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Cry. Forgive. Learn. Move on. Let your tears water the seeds of your future happiness. – Steve Maraboli
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We are woken up by Londy. We wake up and sit up straight in the couch.
Londy: “sisi wake up before mom wakes up and comes here to clean.”
Me: “thanks sisi. How about you clean here and I will take care of the kitchen plus I’m starving. Did you finish the food last night?”
Vuyo: “not really, we…” Lord take me now. This guy’s voice bafethu. I can’t able bahlali. I close his mouth with my hand and look at Londy.
Her: “it’s still there in the fridge. I will make you guys some coffee” she disappears to the kitchen. Vuyo removes my hand from his mouth and looks at me blankly.
Me: “don’t look at me like that, you know what your morning voice does to me” he laughs quietly. Even his deep laughter kills my joints. Thixo! I pull him towards the kitchen and we sit on the barstools.
Him: “but babe when are you going to get used to it?”
Me: “not anytime soon. Ingshaya ngaphakathi.”
Him: “usho ukuthi iyi Lucky Star?” we all laugh. Londy hands us coffee and we drink it.
Me: “Not bad little sis, even though I’m craving latte.”
Vuyo: “when we get back to Sandton I will buy you the DeLonghi Nespresso Lattissima Pro Espresso Machine.”
Me: “thank you Mondisa wami ngedwa.” I kiss his cheek and Londy clears her throat.
Her: “you guys tend to forget that we are not in Gauteng.” We laugh and Sizwe gets in looking devastated, he sits opposite me.
Him: “morning everyone, MaLondy can I also have coffee?” she make one for him and give him.
Me: “you look like you’ve been hit by a truck” he raises his head and looks at me.
Him: “how are you like this sisi?” My brother is a very sensitive person.
Me: “I’m in the process of healing bhuti, anyways let me take a quick shower and we can go to the mall and get some things for breakfast.”
Him: “or we can eat breakfast at Wimpy on our way to the funeral”
Me: “great then” mom and everyone else join us in the kitchen. We exchange greetings and we talk about basic things. There is a knock at the kitchen door and I stand up to open. I am shocked when I see Thabi standing there. I freeze.
Thabi: “aren’t you going to invite me in?” I attack her with a hug and she laughs, I lead her inside.
Me: “OMG! I thought you died and they threw you in a river or cremated you.”
Her: “you can’t rid of me that easily.”
Me: “clearly.” We laugh. She sits where I was sitting before she arrived. “Ohh guys this is Thabi my friend and Thabi this is Vuyo and Thandeka my bosses from Johannesburg.” They exchange handshakes and greetings and also hugs. Well she hugs mom and the triple L’s. “So where we you hiding?”
Her: “the year you went to varsity I went to Mexico for training on how to be a proper gang lord. My training lasted for 2 years and after that I stayed for a year learning other things also creating good working relations with other powerful gangs. After that I spent the other years in Cuba also learning some mafia shit. I came back in South Africa last month and I’m currently staying at Pretoria. So what are you doing here?” this chick will never change, she talks about gangsterism like it’s nothing, at first mom wanted nothing to do with her but at times she loosened up when she saw that she wasn’t going anywhere.
Me: “uncle Thabani died”
Her: “oww I know I’m the one that killed him” everyone looks at her shocked. “You didn’t think I’d let him live after he did you like that now did you?”
Me: “I give up.” She laughs.
Her: “anyways I will see you in Jozi, I’m flying down today. Bye everyone.” They all chant BYE .She stands up and we go outside. “Nice boyfriend you got there.”
Me: “what are you on about?”
Her: “that Vuyo guy, he loves you, I saw the way he looks at you. He is a keeper.”
Me: “what did they do to you in Mexico?” she laughs.
Her: “give me your number and I will contact you when I arrive in JHB” she hands me her phone, I type my number and after that she leaves. When I get back inside the house we all prepare to leave and after an hour or so we are all ready. We get in the cars, I am riding with Vuyo, TDK, Londy and Sizwe is riding with mom and the twins. We leave home and our ride is not as quiet as yesterday.
Vuyo: “so we are getting married in October” hebana this guy is really nuts.
Me: “Vuyo!” he laughs.
TDK: “is that true?”
Me: “I don’t know, maybe” she laughs.
Her: “knowing my brother he is dead serious about that”
Me: “he said and I quote ‘Why must I wait? So that a cheese boy from UJ or WITS could come and swept you off your feet? Never my love.’” We all laugh.
Vuyo: “hau my love you are making fun of me now?” I quickly kiss his cheek and he blushes.
Londy: “well do I get to be the maid of honor?”
TDK: “no I will be the maid of honor”
Me: “if you guys are fighting for the title you will leave us no choice but to go straight to home affairs and get married there.” Vuyo laughs.
After a few hours of travelling we arrive in Durban and go to have breakfast at Wimpy, the one at Workshop. After breakfast we go to Kwa Nanda for the funeral. When we arrive there people are already preparing to go to church so we stay in the car. Mom being mom gets out and go to speak to them, they are her family after all. After what seemed like forever we all go to church. I am seated in between to Sizwe and Londy. The service starts and I am really pissed off by people who went to the podium because they were busy saying how uncle was a great man, how he never wronged a soul, how his life was shortened by thugs. Geez the guy was a rapist for God’s sake. When the program director asked for one of his nephews and nieces to come and talk on the podium Sizwe stands up and I look at him. He smiles and make his way to the front.
